That’s Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta of New York’s celebrated indie label Eckhaus Latta on Kim Kardashian West. The design duo, who’ve staged a rogue fashion show at MoMA PS1 and cast their collections with the likes of Bjarne Melgaard and Hari Nef, are behind one of Kardashian West’s recent looks. On July 31, Kardashian West wore an Eckhaus Latta knit skirt with a waistband cut-out to perform the very mundane task of getting snacks at a gas station. “We’re thrilled that she bought the skirt and welcome her to buy as much Eckhaus Latta as she pleases,” Eckhaus and Latta wrote Vogue. “She looks beautiful in it.”

To fans of the avant-garde label, though, the very sight of Kardashian West in Eckhaus Latta came as a surprise. How did the woman who loves the overt glitz of Balmain, the slinky sexiness of Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy, and the next-to-nothing nudity of her Yeezy outfits land on one of fashion’s most radical labels? The truth is that she, or her stylist, bought it—and that it’s not the first time Kim’s owned an Eckhaus Latta piece. “Kim actually bought a piece from our third collection [Fall 2013]. It was a wool crop top with little portraits of Steve Jobs ironed onto the front. We never saw a pic of her in it, but it was our first piece sold on eBay, through her eBay shop that donated to charity.”

Before there was that Eckhaus Latta skirt ensemble, there was a goddess-like Rick Owens column at an event in Los Angeles in March, a vintage Vivienne Westwood dress at the Met Gala in May, and a host of archival Helmut Lang and Raf Simons pieces scattered throughout July and August. Separately, none of those looks signaled a grand change in Kardashian West’s style, or even piqued much interest among the fashion press, but together they represent a shift from her support of established labels to niche and independent brands.

Why the shift? And who’s facilitating it?

The truth is, Kardashian West has a history of buying from small brands. In 2016, she wore a piece from Daisy, an independent brand run by the Australian couple Renee and Gibson Fox. The pair say they have no clue how Kardashian West found their designs. “It felt surreal . . . the chances of someone like Kim sourcing from an independent label from Sydney in our first season is like being struck by lightning,” they told Vogue. She’s also endorsed Nili Lotan (as did her sister Kendall Jenner and friend Gigi Hadid), Baja East, and Jonathan Simkhai in the past two years.

Fast-forward to today and you’re more likely to see Kardashian West carrying a vintage bag than a Birkin. The evolution began after Kardashian West’s social media blackout following her harrowing robbery in Paris in October 2016. Some speculate she has a new stylist, others that she’s shifting away from promoting established fashion brands so she can promote her beauty brand, KKW Beauty. One who might know is David Casavant, a collector who maintains a rigorous archive of coveted fashion pieces in New York. “I’ve loaned a few things to her in the past, but I already work with Kanye [West] on Yeezy. When I was working with him recently he just thought some of the styling we were doing using pieces from my archive would be cool on Kim, so we tried them,” says Casavant. “I put some things aside from my archive I think might be cool for her, Kanye will [too], and Danielle from her team will. For me it’s just about feeling it out, and not being afraid to experiment, and not being afraid of trying something just because it’s menswear or might look weird. She has a magical way of fitting in almost anything and a way of being able to pull things off. That’s why she’s an icon.”

So what’s the implication when someone who can sell out a top in minutes goes from the mainstream to the indie?

There’s obviously a financial boost for the designers. The Foxes, behind Daisy, say that after the image of Kardashian West in their harness hit the Internet, “Requests for that style came streaming in so fast we couldn’t keep up. We did multiple sell-out runs and still get requests for it today, a year on.” Their clothing is now stocked in Opening Ceremony and worn by the likes of Stephanie Shepherd, the COO of Kardashian West brands, and Bella Hadid.

Separate from how the Kim effect might alter a business is the effect her approval bears on popular culture. Think of it as the Oprah’s book club stamp for millennials and Generation Z. “I think it’s a good way to show young people who want to emulate how Kim dresses that they should also utilize their own creativity and that you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune,” says Casavant. “I think she carried a Prada bag I got from a vintage store for $50 and the sheer vintage Helmut dress she wore I found for a steal of maybe a couple hundred dollars. I’d love it if more young people got into vintage because it’s a cheaper, more creative outlet that is becoming the future as we rely less on having fashion dictated to us.”

Eckhaus Latta’s designers second that sentiment. “It’s an inherently more interesting move on her part to wear an array of things, established brands, young designers, Yeezy, and vintage . . . Kim is a style icon of our time, and her personal style will help promote anything she chooses to put on her body. At the end of the day, we’re honored that someone with a lot of options chose to wear one of our pieces.”